CAMELLIA THUANANA (CAMELLIA SECT. CHRYSANTHA) – A NEW SPECIES FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, VIETNAM

Camellia thuanana, a new species of the genus Camellia L. (Theaceae) is described and illustrated from the Central Highlands, Vietnam. Morphological features of this species are small flowers and pedicellate; leaves stalked, anastomosing venation, blades oblong-elliptic to elliptic, sparsely hirsute along the midrib below; pedicel very short; bracteoles 2–3, triangular; sepals 4–(5) in opposite pairs; corolla light greenish-yellow color; petals 7–8, glabrous; androecium 190–200 stamens, light yellow, in 3–4 circles; gynoecium 3, ovary ovoid and pubescent; styles 3, free to the base, and glabrous. C. thuanana resembles C. thuongiana in some morphological characteristics. C. thuanana is classified into sect. Chrysantha by styles completely free, flowers yellow, ovaries 3–5 locular, and partially connate. The IUCN Redlist Category of C. thuanana was assessed as Critically Endangered (CR)

Complex Monge-Amp\`ere equations for plurifinely plurisubharmonic functions

This paper studies the complex Monge-Amp\`ere equations for $\mathcal F$-plurisubharmonic functions in bounded $\mathcal F$-hyperconvex domains. We give sufficient conditions for this equation to solve for measures with a singular part

THE DIVERSITY OF YELLOW CAMELLIAS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, VIETNAM

The Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) is a center of yellow camellia diversity in Vietnam and the world. The Central Highlands contains 18 of Vietnam’s yellow camellia species, accounting for 37% of yellow camellia species in Vietnam and 28% of yellow camellia species worldwide. Moreover, all 18 yellow camellia species in the Central Highlands are endemic to Vietnam. The camellias of the Central Highlands belong to nine sections, accounting for 75% of the world. The yellow colors occur in three groups: pale yellow, yellow, and yellow with compound colors. The yellow camellia distribution is dispersed at 500–1600 m elevation in evergreen broadleaf forests and mixed wood-bamboo forests

STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF CALCIUM-ALGINATE AND WHEY PROTEIN ON THE SURVIVAL RATE OF Bifidobacterium bifidum IN MAYONNAISE

ABSTRACT – QMFS 2019The functional food development by adding probiotic bacteria is getting a lot of concern. In this study, Bifidobacterium bifidum AS 1.1886 was encapsulated in calcium-alginate 2% w/v (C sample) or the mix of calcium-alginate 2% (w/v) and whey protein 1% (w/v) (CW sample) or calcium-alginate 2% (w/v) coated by whey protein 1% (w/v) (CcW sample) by extrusion method, and added to mayonnaise product. The pH changes, the survival rate of probiotic bacteria, and total yeast and mold count during storage, as well as the probiotic survival in simulated gastric medium, were evaluated. The result showed that the pH changes were not significantly different in all mayonnaise samples in this test. The viability of the free probiotic cell was significant decrease about 5.85 log CFU/g compared to 0.26 ÷ 1.14 log CFU/g in encapsulated cell samples after four weeks of storage. None of the free cells survived after six weeks of storage. The total yeast and mold count in samples related to the probiotic count, the viability of probiotic cells higher 6 log CFU/g might be controlling the growth of yeast and molds in mayonnaise. Whey protein has been shown to significantly improve the survival rate of B.bifidum and calcium-alginate coated by whey protein, indicating the most effective protection. The result showed that the application potential of encapsulated probiotic in mayonnaise product

CONTAMINATION BY PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS IN VIETNAM : PATTERNS, BEHAVIOR, TRENDS AND TOXIC POTENTIAL

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

In vitro bioactivities of Codonopsis javanica root extract from Kon Tum province, Vietnam

Dangshen Codonopsis javanica exhibits invaluable medicinal properties in herbal remedies; however, there has currently not been much specific analysis of the phytochemicals and bioactivities of this plant. The root ethanol extract of C. javanica contains substances such as saponins, phenolic acids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. It displays an antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus with the IC50 values of 150, 100, 150, and 90 μg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the root extract was also observed with an IC50 value of 46.8 ± 6.8 μg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibits activity on human cancer cell lines HepG2 (IC50 = 83.6 ± 2.7 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (IC50 = 95.3 ± 2.3 μg/mL). Hence, this study provides the basic data for further research on the bioactivities of natural compounds of Dangshen C. javanica for the first time

EVALUATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE BASED ON AGRO-MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

The study assessed the variations in nine agro-morphological characters among and within the black glutinous rice (Oryza sativa) population from Chau Thanh District, Tra Vinh Province. The nine quantitative agromorphological characters that were measured include culm length, leaf length, leaf width, number of panicles, panicle length, grain length, grain width, number of firm grain, and number of grain per panicle. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean method and principal coordinate analysis by the NTSYS program were applied in this study to classify the nine agro-morphological characters. In addition, to compare the variations in quantitative characters between O. sativa populations, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. The results showed significant differences between the black glutinous rice populations for all quantitative agro-morphological characters. Moreover, some agro-morphological characters showed positive correlations to each other. The dendrogram generated from the analysis process of the agromorphological data divided the O. sativa populations into two groups with unfamiliar features. However, the O. sativa populations assessed exhibited a wide range of variations in morphological characteristics, both within the same population and among other populations with the same strains

VẬT LIỆU TIO2/THAN HOẠT TÍNH TỪ TRO TRẤU VÀ KHẢ NĂNG HẤP PHỤ XANH METHYLENE

In the present work, TiO2/activated-carbon composite (TiO2/RHAC) was synthesized with an assembly method. Activated carbon was fabircated from rice husks. The water-soluble titanium complex was synthesized from anatase via the peroxide complex. The mixture of activated carbon and water-soluble TiO2 was calcined at 600 °C. The obtained samples were characterized by using XRD, SEM, EDX, and UV-Vis-DR. The results show that the obtained composites exhibit excellent adsorption toward methylene blue (MB). The equilibrium data fit the Langmuir isotherm model well. The maximum monolayer capacity calculated from the Langmuir model is 144.7 mg·g–1. The TiO2/RHAC could be self-cleaned after use by photocatalytic degradation. The adsorption capacity insignificantly decreases after three recycles of adsorption, and TiO2/RHAC is a promising adsorbent for removing dyes from the aqueous environment.Trong nghiên cứu này, TiO2/than hoạt tính từ tro trấu (TiO2/RHAC) đã được tổng hợp bằng phương pháp trộn lẫn than hoạt tính và phức titanium. Than hoạt tính được tổng hợp từ tro trấu và phức titanium hòa tan trong nước tổng hợp từ anatase bằng cách tạo phức peroxide. Hỗn hợp được nung trong môi trường thiếu oxy ở 600 °C. Vật liệu tổng hợp được phân tích bằng nhiễu xạ tia X, kính hiển vi điện tử quét và đẳng nhiệt hấp phụ/giải hấp phụ ni tơ. TiO2/RHAC có khả năng hấp phụ cao đối với xanh methylene. Số liệu đẳng nhiệt cân bằng tuân theo mô hình Langmuir và dung lượng hấp phụ cực đại tính theo mô hình này là 144,7 mg·g–1. Chất bị hấp phụ có thể được loại bỏ bằng cách chiếu sáng bằng đèn chiếu nhờ khả năng xúc tác quang hóa của nó. Sau ba lần tái sinh, dung lượng hấp phụ thay đổi không đáng kể. TiO2/RHAC có tiềm năng làm chất hấp phụ xử lý phẩm màu nói chung

Estimating cost efficiency and sources of inefficiency in paddy farming: A study in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

The misuse of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in rice cultivation is leading to low-quality outputs, high production costs, health issues and environmental problems (e.g., degraded soil quality, water pollution and increasing greenhouse gases). The efficient use of production inputs would be a feasible way to mitigate these issues. This paper employed a true random-effects model to measure cost efficiency and investigate the factors affecting cost inefficiency among Vietnamese rice producers. This study used the surveyed data of 350 rice households collected in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings of this research show that the mean cost efficiency score is 0.92 with a wide variation (0.26 – 0.99). This study indicates that there is still potential for inefficient rice producers to save production costs by improving their cost inefficiency. The study also reveals a positive relationship between cost inefficiency and farm size, natural disasters and rice diseases. This suggests that as farms grow, natural disasters and rice diseases become more prevalent and rice producers become increasingly incapable of managing input costs. This study suggests that supportive policies should focus on improving rice farmers’ skills to manage production inputs and deal with rice diseases and natural disasters to minimize rice production costs

Estimating cost efficiency and sources of inefficiency in paddy farming: A study in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

The misuse of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in rice cultivation is leading to low-quality outputs, high production costs, health issues and environmental problems (e.g., degraded soil quality, water pollution and increasing greenhouse gases). The efficient use of production inputs would be a feasible way to mitigate these issues. This paper employed a true random-effects model to measure cost efficiency and investigate the factors affecting cost inefficiency among Vietnamese rice producers. This study used the surveyed data of 350 rice households collected in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The findings of this research show that the mean cost efficiency score is 0.92 with a wide variation (0.26 – 0.99). This study indicates that there is still potential for inefficient rice producers to save production costs by improving their cost inefficiency. The study also reveals a positive relationship between cost inefficiency and farm size, natural disasters and rice diseases. This suggests that as farms grow, natural disasters and rice diseases become more prevalent and rice producers become increasingly incapable of managing input costs. This study suggests that supportive policies should focus on improving rice farmers’ skills to manage production inputs and deal with rice diseases and natural disasters to minimize rice production costs